Broncos-Patriots overtime thriller grabs top primetime ratings

Monday, November 25, 2013 11:20 AM EST

STAMFORD, Conn. – November 25, 2013 – Last night's NBC Sunday Night Football thriller featuring Tom Brady leading the New England Patriots to a team-record setting 34-31 overtime win against Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos in 'Manning-Brady XIV' – the 14th meeting between the future Hall of Fame quarterbacks – posted a 17.0 overnight rating and 28 share (8:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET) marking the best primetime overnight for a November game in 17 years and a 26% increase over last season's Week 12 SNF game (13.5 for Green Bay-New York Giants).

The Patriots' epic comeback victory – they trailed 24-0 at halftime – kept viewers tuned in late, as the SNF overnight rating peaked from 11:30 p.m.-midnight ET at 17.9/34 (full half-hour rating chart below). In addition, SNF more than doubled the overnight rating of primetime's second-ranked entertainment show for the night – the American Music Awards (8.2/12 on ABC)

Coupled with last week's 16.6/27 overnight for Kansas City-Denver, NBC's back-to-back SNF contests are the first consecutive primetime games (not including NFL Kickoff games) since ‘96 in which a network posted overnight ratings of 16.6 or higher.

Brady passed for 344 yards and three touchdowns as the Patriots posted the largest come-from-behind victory in club history after trailing 24-0 in the first half. Brady led New England (now 8-3) to 31 consecutive second-half points to take a 31-24 fourth-quarter lead before Manning capped a 10-play, 80-yard Denver scoring drive with a game-tying 11-yard TD pass to Demaryius Thomas with 3:06 left in regulation. Denver (9-2) and New England each had two possessions in overtime before Stephen Gostkowski kicked the 31-yard game-winning field goal with 1:56 remaining.

The previous best November primetime NFL overnight was an 18.0/29 for Pittsburgh-Miami on ABC on November 25, 1996, as Kordell Stewart rushed for a touchdown and Mike Tomczak threw a TD pass to lead the first-place Steelers to a 24-17 come-from-behind win over Dan Marino (254 passing yards & 1 TD) and the Dolphins. The week prior, on November 18, 1996, the defending Super Bowl-champion Dallas Cowboys' 21-6 win over Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers on ABC posted a 21.5/32 overnight.

The Patriots' memorable Sunday Night Football victory is the fifth-highest Sunday overnight in the eight-year history of NBC's primetime package (excluding 'NFL Kickoff' games) and ranks second this season behind the 17.3 for Manning's return to Indianapolis on October 20.

Following are NBC's highest overnight ratings for a Sunday regular-season game since the debut of Sunday Night Football in 2006:

Game, Date

Overnight

Highlights

Dallas-Wash., 12/30/12

18.3

Rookie Robert Griffin III leads Redskins to NFC East title with 28-18 victory in “win-and-in” Week 17 matchup. Game posted highest regular-season primetime overnight on any network in 15 years.

Pittsburgh-Denver, 9/9/12

18.0

Peyton Manning debuts with a new team (Denver) after missing ’11 season with neck injury, and throws his 400th career TD pass in Broncos’ come-from-behind 31-19 victory.

Denver-Indy, 10/20/13

17.3

QB Andrew Luck accounts for 4 TDs to lead Colts to a 39-33 win over Broncos in Peyton Manning’s return to Indianapolis.

Dallas-NY Giants, 1/1/12

17.1

Eli Manning passes for 346 yards and 3 TDs to lead Giants to NFC East title with 31-14 victory in “win-and-in” Week 17 matchup.

Denver-N.E., 11/24/13

17.0

In “Manning-Brady XIV,” Tom Brady passes for 344 yards & 3 TDs to lead Patriots to victory after trailing 24-0 against Peyton Manning and Broncos.

In the Adults 18-49 demographic, Sunday Night Football easily won the night posting a 10.4 rating (in the 25 markets used to calculate the overnight demo) – 108% better than the top entertainment show in the demo (5.0 for American Music Awards).